Colorado Springs police car smashed, shots fired during stolen vehicle search

Six people, five of them teenagers, are in custody after gunfire rang out in east Colorado Springs following a police search of a stolen vehicle Thursday afternoon.

It started around 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of Platte Avenue and Wooten Road and ended a few miles away at the Eaglecrest Apartments on Cree Drive.

That’s where the vehicle smashed through a wooden fence and into a tree on the complex property.

“I heard gunshots and a car crash,” said Sammie Gauntt, a witness. “I looked out the window and there’s a cop screaming for someone to get down. People were screaming and neighbors were pounding on the door, saying that people are running loose and to make sure doors are locked.”

El Paso County sheriff’s deputies and the Colorado State Patrol also responded to the incident.

Authorities said the vehicle, a blue Infiniti JX-35, matched the description of one reported stolen.

“But we were unable to effect a traffic stop at that location,” said Lt. Howard Black of the Colorado Springs Police Department. “We caught up to it when we learned it might be heading to the (apartment) area.”

Black said the car rammed into the front of a patrol cruiser, tearing off the bumper. After that, officers and witnesses heard several gunshots coming from the car.

“We’re not sure if they were shooting at officers,” he said. “But officers did not fire back. No one was hurt. We found several shell casings.”

Black said the six people in the car tried to run away but were quickly caught.

The crime scene on Cree Drive reopened at 8 p.m. Thursday, and both damaged vehicles were towed.